In July of 1976, I (aka Giuseppe Scaggoli), as proprietor of the Celebrity Sperm Bank, planned to hold an auction of rock star sperm. The press release said, “We’ll have sperm from the likes of Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and vintage sperm from Jimmy Hendricks. All donations are certified and authenticated.” I asked about 50 actor friends to gather on Waverly Place between 6th Avenue and MacDougal Street in front of my attorney’s brownstone home. Read the rest of the story here and see some images below.

Yesterday, October, 17, 2012, (thanks Chris Cook, John Lundberg & Larry Croft for the heads-up), a new Celebrity Sperm Bank hoax called Fame Daddy was covered by ITV, the Telegraph, the Globe & Mail, to name a few.

As I’ve said for decades, give the media a sensational story and they’re all over it. Had any of them heeded any of the principles of journalism, they’d likely have figured out that not only was this Celebrity Sperm Bank a hoax, it was not even an original idea.

1976 Celebrity Sperm Bank:

As reported in Screw Magazine, August 1976

As reported in Ms. Magazine, November 1976

Why’d I do it? In 1976, I was satirizing the possibilities inherent in our advanced medical technology as well as the media’s interest in sexual news items. Why’d Fame Daddy do it? Who knows? But maybe next time they can come up with an original idea!

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Welcome to the Art of the Prank, produced and edited by Joey Skaggs. Here you will find insights, information, news and discussions about art, pranks, hoaxes, culture jamming & reality hacking around the world - past, present and future - mainstream and counter culture. You are invited to contribute to its development. May your journey be filled with more than your expectations.